


A Depiction of Winter

by Leaves_Crown



Category: Free!
Genre: First Love, Love, M/M, Skiing, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 21:38:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2826965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leaves_Crown/pseuds/Leaves_Crown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin takes Haru to the Alps for skiing, but they both have ulterior motives for making this trip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Depiction of Winter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [requiemJezebel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/requiemJezebel/gifts).



Arms spread wide, Rin turned around, taking in the view. Tall mountains surrounded them, while the houses in Filzmoos reminded him of a Christmas cartoon he had once seen.

“Amazing!”

Haru paid the taxi driver and followed at a more leisurely pace, dragging their luggage up to the log cabin they had rented. He had never seen this much snow in his life, and he had to adjust a little.

“I can’t wait to go up!” Rin let out. “I haven’t skied on a real mountain for years.”

“So, you should be careful.” Haru took the key they had just received from his pocket.

“Yeah, yeah.” Rin stared up at the mountain in adoration.

The log cabin was small, but appealed to Haru. Many people had spent a happy holiday in there and it oozed cosiness. Opening the door, he entered a cold hallway with a fluffy red carpet to welcome them. After taking off his shoes, he went in search for a heater. He found a big fireplace in the living room and even fluffier carpet.

The front door was still open, which did not help in raising the temperature, so he stuck his head outside. “Let’s unpack first.”

“Ah, sure.”

Haru hid his amusement at Rin’s goofy smile and quickly closed the door after he had strode past.

Only remembering he had his shoes still on when he saw the trail of snow behind him, Rin quickly kicked them off and entered the living room.

His eyes lit up when seeing the fire place. He walked over, picked up a log and put it on top of the rest.

“In the evening, I’ll lit candles as well, and we can have dinner in front of it. Romantic!”

“…Ah.”

Rin chuckled. “I’m really glad you came along.”

“It’s fine. I wanted to.”

“We can start skiing now, or do you want to go snowboarding?”

“…I’m fine. I just want to paint a little.”

“You can take a ski-class if you like,” Rin said, not wanting to give up that easily. “They have them for beginners as well.”

“In German?”

“They can speak English too.”

Haru raised his eyebrows.

“Eh…or I can teach you, if you want.”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“Okay. Whatever you want.” Rin put his hand on Haru’s shoulder. “I’m going to rent ski equipment. I’ll be back when it gets dark.”

“Have fun,” Haru said.

After Rin had left the house, Haru sat down on the couch. He was still wearing his coat. Rin had been in such a hurry that he had forgotten to ask him how to light the fire. Perhaps just strike a match and throw it on the wood?

Haru suspected there was a little more to it, and since he did not want to burn the cabin down, he left the fire alone. Instead, he climbed the wooden stairs to the first floor. The bathroom held a big wooden tub. Two, maybe even three people would fit inside. An image came to him; of sharing the tub with Rin.

Haru shook the fantasy away and turned on the tap, letting hot water pour in. Taking off his coat, he dumped it on the large bed in one of the two bedrooms. A tiny heater stood next to the cupboard there. Relieved, he plugged it in and turned it on.

No longer afraid that he would have to spend his afternoon in the cold, Haru undressed, letting his clothes drop to the floor. He hurried to the tub and dipped his toe in.

Too hot.

After adjusting the temperature, Haru waited for a minute, before entering. The water still had a way to go, so he leaned back against the edge, closing his eyes.

His fantasy continued where he had stopped it before. He would welcome Rin if he came into the bathroom, hair covered with flakes of snow. Taking off his clothes, slowly, to let Haru salivate at the exposure of that wonderful body, he would sit down next to him. Putting his arm around his shoulder, Rin would lean in and kiss him for the first time.

For years now, Haru had had such thoughts, but they had brought him nowhere. Part of him wondered if it would not be better to keep some distance between them, but he did not want to go back to those cold years in which they did not talk. Haru rather had Rin as a friend for the rest of his days than not having him in his life at all.

Sighing, he relaxed as the water made its way up, touching more of his skin with each passing minute. Perhaps he had mostly seen this trip as an opportunity to spend time with Rin, but that did not mean he should not enjoy a few minutes in the bath.

*

“You take care now, and don’t be too reckless.”

A big smile on his face, Rin hung up the phone. He always felt cheered when speaking with his former host family. Though it was getting late in Australia, he could not resist telling them about the wonderful mountain he was about to ski down from.

Especially Lori was a great skier, having grown up in Tasmania. She was the one who had taught Rin in the first place.

He put his ski goggles over his eyes. Bright orange, they did not fit well with his rented green ski suit, but it had fit best of all the ones they had available. And who cared? Nobody but Haru knew him here and that particular young man was unlikely to care about fashion anyway.

Pushing himself forward, but not so much that he would slide down fast, he tried to get a feel for the snow again.

He wobbled a bit, steadied himself and pushed again. Still, it did not go as fluently as once before. A lady with a long ponytail took a look at him. “Are you sure you can go down this slope? It’s for skiers with some experience,” she said in British English.

“I’m fine.” Rin gave her a reassuring smile. “Just getting back into things.”

Turning back to face the valley, Rin watched skiers from many different countries descend. A few seemed unsure, but most enjoyed themselves without reservations. He watched those skiers, male and female, and took heart from them.

When he next pushed off, he no longer stumbled. The snow was smooth, helpful under his skis. Gaining speed, Rin felt a flutter of nervousness, but it did not affect his performance. Instead it helped him focus. A genuine smile began to spread on his face.

Halfway down, he glanced up, feeling one with mountain and the whiteness around him. What he saw almost broke his concentration enough to fall.

On the ski lift, he recognized Haru’s dark coat, black pants… Haru himself.

“Hey!”

Haru put up his hand in a motionless wave and glanced upwards. Rin frowned, having too much speed to linger, but not without noticing Haru did not have skis with him. Did he think he could rent them up the mountain or something?

A little exasperated, Rin hurried to the ski lift and got on, sitting next to a middle aged lady and her daughter. They spoke Italian, enthusiastically having a conversation about the piste, Rin assumed.

When he was almost at the top, he saw Haru going the opposite direction on the lift.

“You can rent skis downstairs, but I don’t think this is a slope for beginners,” Rin yelled.

“Yes, I know,” Haru called in a softer voice. “Don’t shout. You might cause an avalanche.”

“There’s no way this slope will…”

But Haru was already too far away to hear.

“That guy…”

Rin sighed. He should focus on getting down again and then helping Haru to skis and a beginner’s class.

He saw the lady with the ponytail again, who now nodded encouragingly, having seen him go down just before. With what he imagined was a gallant wave, Rin took leave of her and sped down again.

To his bafflement, Haru was still on the ski lift, going up _again_. Still without skis, he looked at Rin intently.

Rin lowered his speed. “Just get down already!”

Yet there was no indication Haru had heard. Instead, Haru still looked at him intently until the lift had gone up too far.

A few older people passed him, and he realized he had no option but to go on. He gained more speed as he skied his way down and he enjoyed the wind against his face.

Instead of chasing Haru up again, he decided to just sign him up for a beginner’s course for tomorrow.  
*

The sun had almost set. Haru had already unfolded his portable easel and mixed a range of blues and whites, when Rin reached their cabin. He turned on a light and sighed when he saw Haru painting in the living room.

“How long have you been here?”

“Half an hour.”

“How long were you on the mountain?”

“A while.”

Rin frowned, understanding it even less. “What were you doing?”

“I’m going to paint you. I needed to see what you looked like.”

Any annoyance Rin might have felt disappeared at this statement. “You want to paint me as I ski?”

Haru looked away. “You don’t want me to?”

“No, that’s fine.” Rin hesitated, but then put his hand on the small of Haru’s back. He did not think he imagined Haru’s sharp intake of breath. “I think that’s nice, actually.”

“Okay.”

Rin’s eyes narrowed, hoping for another indication that his closeness affected Haru. Yet Haru stepped away, out of reach, picking up a rectory red that he probably did not need.

“What’s for dinner?” Haru asked.

“You haven’t bought anything?”

“No. I stayed on the mountain for quite a while, trying to sketch the environment.”

“We can order something.”

“We don’t speak German.”

“I learned a little last summer when I stayed in Freudenberg for a month,” Rin reminded him. “And I’m sure someone will speak English. What’s our address again?”

Haru handed him a piece of paper and put down the red as Rin looked for restaurants.

He had worked on improving his English in the three years since they had left high school. It had been a painful process, but necessary as he participated in more and more tournaments abroad. Still, he could not make out everything Rin said, probably because unfamiliar dishes dominated the conversation.

Rin did not even notice that he said his goodbyes to the lady in a mixture of German and English.

“You are very good at that.”

“What?” Rin asked, puzzled.

“Languages.”

“Eh? I got praise from Haru.” Rin smiled happily. “That’s a rare occurrence.”

A little moody, Haru dipped his brush into the off-white he had created himself. “Maybe I should just paint the mountain after all.”

“Nah, I want to be in it. You promised!”

Haru said nothing.

“I’m gonna lit the fireplace,” Rin said, with a smug expression on his face as if he had just won at something. “Gotta create the right atmosphere.”

Something fluttered in Haru’s chest, but he managed to keep a straight face and continued the outlines of the mountain.

*

An hour later, the temperature in the house was much more pleasant. Rin had set up a low, foldable table in front of the hearth and had pillows draped around it. The doorbell rang, so Rin went to pay. He came back with a startlingly amount of food.

“Austrian pancakes,” Rin said, holding up one plastic bag. “And this might be the Linzer Torte.”

Haru quickly took a few of the bags from his fingers and noticed that one weighed more heavily than the rest.

“You ever had Glühwein?” Rin asked.

Shaking his head, Haru peeked in the bag. He liked the bottle of dark red with a depiction of a snowy village. Maybe it would be better than normal wine.

To his surprise, Rin took the bottle and headed for the little kitchenette. Apparently it had to be heated up like some types of sake. Haru spent the next few minutes laying the food out. None of it was familiar. It smelled nice though.

No mackerel of course, but Haru had gotten a bit better at eating different things. Last time he met Gou, she had been pleasantly surprised when he had brought her a potato salad without fish in it.

“What are you thinking of?” Haru called, coming back with a decanter.

“Eating.”

“Good.”

Rin poured them both a cup of the glühwein. Though Haru did not comment on the taste, he sipped from it often and finished it even before Rin.

They ate with relish and Rin was pleased to see that Haru liked most of the dishes. Especially the pancakes took his fancy. Now that his stomach was no longer empty, Rin sat back a little and discreetly watched the other man.

He had suggested it casually, this trip to the Alps, but his motives were anything but. His crush, as it had been, had not faded, but grown into something much deeper. He saw Haru at tournaments and around New Year in Japan, but most of the time they were apart. In all those lonely days, he craved Haru’s presence. No matter how many new friends he made and how busy he was improving himself, Rin felt incomplete without him.

“It’s quite hot.”

Rin glanced at the flames. “I can’t just turn them off, it will be better in a bit.”

 

When he looked back at Haru, he was taking off his pants. Used to ridding himself of clothes at the drop of a hat, Haru probably thought nothing of it, but this evening it got Rin in trouble.

Haru just looked too cute in just that green, woollen sweater and he could not help admiring his legs. After a long day out in the snow, his cheeks were flushed and his lips had never looked more inviting.

“Rin.” Haru’s eyes fixed on him as they normally didn’t. “Is there something you wish to say?”

“….”

“No?”

“Yes.” With that Rin reached out, fingers taking Haru’s collar. He closed the distance between them. Eyes closing, he touched Haru’s lips with his own. Time slowed, as he put his all in the kiss, not knowing if it would be the only one they would ever share.

Haru did not pull back, but did not respond either.

So, with regret Rin broke the contact and looked at Haru nervously.

“So?”

“…So?” Rin repeated, confused.

Haru’s hands reached for his left hand, holding it between them. “I thought you were going to say something?”

And then a smile broke on Rin’s face at Haru’s lack of anger, his seeming acceptance and his ability to act this casual in such a situation.

“Do you mind if I kiss you again?”

“I do.” Haru leaned closer to him. “I should return the favour first.”

Though Haru still held his hand, Rin put the other around his shoulder. This kiss lasted longer than the first. Patient with each other, they both needed to find what felt comfortable and good.

Rin slid his hand over Haru’s thigh, squeezing it as he had dreamed of so often before.

A little sigh escaped Haru’s mouth, eliciting a response in his entire body.

“I want you,” Rin whispered against his neck. “I’ve wanted you so long.”

The skin beneath his lips felt smooth, but a tremble ran through Haru’s body at these words.

“Do you want me, Haru?”

“I…yes…but I…” He shivered, but said nothing more. And Rin understood that he should hold back, at least for tonight.

“Don’t worry,” Rin said, leaving soft kisses on his neck and just below it. “This is more than I had hoped for already.”

Though it had been a simple statement of a fact, Haru’s eyes widened. His face showed such open happiness that Rin could not but pull him even closer.

“We’re going to have a wonderful vacation, you and I.”

**Author's Note:**

> Normally, when writing fic, at least you know a reader can click away without too much disappointment if a fic is not their taste. Writing this was therefore a bit nerve-wrecking, since it was a custom-made Christmas present. 
> 
> RequiemJezebel, I hope you like it! I certainly enjoyed writing it and learning more about skiing.


End file.
